Temples, tourists and the politics of exclusion: The articulation of sacred space at the Hindu pilgrimage center of Pushkar, Indi

This work is an ethnographic study of Pushkar, a Hindu pilgrimage center in North West India which has recently also become a tourist destination. It focuses on the constitution of "sacred space" in the town and examines its embeddedness in socio-cultural practices, its dynamic interface with tourism and its articulation in the social organization and cultural politics of the center. It traces the history of Pushkar through archival sources and the local narratives which also locate the sacred places in and around the town.;The articulation of sacred space in Pushkar, it is argued, involves a range of social and religious activities focused on the sacred lake, the temples, religious fairs and the pilgrims. While these activities are vital in the construction of the sacred territory of the pilgrimage center, issues of sacred space go beyond the religious sphere and are reflected in the political rhetoric of the town, especially in the context of tourism. Tourism clashes in a number of ways with religious activities. Its mediation is a complex process that must balance the need to maintain the town sanctity while incorporating the economic benefits of tourism. The process involves the use of exclusionary rhetoric and the incorporation of native categories of mediation.;Overall, the analysis argues for the need to inform the spatial perspective by issues of culture and politics and those of ideologically negotiated notions of identity and community.